It’s the end of 2012, time for best and worst lists. Because soaps are in such danger and I’ve already recorded most of the worsts in the weekly column I’m choosing only to do the bests here. And Marlena being Marlena sometimes I have multiple choices in each category.

Best Actress: The Bold and the Beautiful’s Susan Flannery. Can there any other? Her work in the month leading up to Stephanie’s death was just so human and full of intelligence, two full career-long defining traits of arguably daytime’s best ever actress.

Doug Davidson

Best Actor: Doug Davidson, The Young and the Restless. Tragedy usually becomes soap performers, but it’s still difficult for some actors to pull off crying scenes believably and effectively. Y&R‘s Doug Davidson was just grand as the drowning-in-guilt Paul, who shot and killed his own son, when Ricky was about to commit murder. Davidson was just so realistic as a father in this ultimate pain, especially when he was unjustly arrested for Ricky’s murder.

Best Supporting Actresses: Too many to choose just one. B&B ’s Katherine Kerry Lang should get the Emmy she deserves this year as Brooke for that character’s loving support of Stephanie on her deathbed … Kelly Sullivan has just been terrifically entertaining and often hilarious as Crazy Connie on General Hospital. (She also plays Connie’s alter, fashion editor Kate.) … Will’s coming out scenes on Days of Our Lives wouldn’t have been half as effective if not for the understanding and support of his grandmother Marlena. Deidre Hall, as ever, is brilliant as a character who represents the ultimate in womanly love and acceptance … Robin Mattson was just deliciously evil as always when her crazy, cunning Heather returned to GH, bringing with her a swath of misdeeds, including a role in the switch of Tea and Sam’s babies.

Best Supporting Actor: General Hospital ‘s Jason Thompson was every bit as good in crying scenes as Y&R’s Davidson, as Patrick so heartbreakingly mourned the death of his wife, Dr. Robin. The exquisite sensitivity the character showed in his grief was totally unexpected.

Best Couple: Anna and “Duke”/Faison on GH. In the 80s they were a supercouple — Finola Hughes and Ian Buchanan had amazing chemistry, and their great acting skills beautifully complimented one other. And they stayed a dazzling duo when both returned this year to GH and played out the twisty and shocking Faison-is-the-fake Duke story. The actors also did just as great work apart: Hughes as Robin’s grieving mother on GH and Buchanan as the scheming meanie Ian on Days,who also wildly grieved when his love Madson died in his arms. Buchanan is this soap year’s prince of melodrama.

Best Show: General Hospital, for making the comeback of the year. A year ago, the smart money bet this show would be cancelled. But executive producer Frank Valenti and headwriter Ron Carlivati turned the tide splendidly, transforming GH into such a highly entertaining show that fans don’t want to miss even one day! May GH’s rising ratings portend a new era of success for dayime soaps!

Thinking Fans’ summer thoughts on Destiny et al.: JTG says Shenell Edmonds’ Destiny is no stereotype. “It’s obvious OLTL’s writers are positioning Destiny as Matthew’s first girlfriend. Most of the time, the stereotypical ‘mammy’ character is either sexless or oversexed. That is not the case with Destiny” … while Mike Goldberg confides Destiny has made him a believer again. “I haven’t been interested in teen romance in years” … and more, on many topics. See Comments below.

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By Marlena De Lacroix

Bonjour everyone! I’ve been taking it easy this summer, staying cool in the pool with my new pooch (see above). Yet I’m still watching soaps and have a bunch of questions I’d like to ask. As always, I welcome your comments!

1. Why hasn’t anyone in the soap press asked major actor John Rubinstein — a Best Actor Tony winner for Children of a Lesser God in 1980 and a million other TV roles, plus being the son of the late piano genius Artur Rubinstein — why he’s playing a minor little part on The Young and the Restless? His Dr. Taylor is the crooked [Read more…]

Thinking Fans Comment Update: Steve‘s take on AMC’s “January stunts” is “I don’t know if I can think of a more blatant example of the type of heartless sickness that has wounded soaps” … and S. Woods adds: “The crud on offer from these soaps is giving tastelessness a bad name” … while Twb6y optimistically doesn’t believe John and Marlena are really gone for good … and more. See Comments below.

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By Marlena De Lacroix

Each year, I have January off from school and I snooze, do some quiet reading and graze the minimally eventful pre-sweeps soaps. Not this year. Too often I’d see something on a soap that would surprise me, shock me or even out and out disgust me. I’d scream! I’d yell! Every other day!

What is going on in this soap January? I have a feeling the approaching end of the genre may have to do with the frantic state of all the soap activity on and off screen this month. Every soap wants to save itself. Every soap is desperately doing whatever it can to hold on to viewers. Hence, many soaps may be acting more out of panic and fright than thinking calmly and rationally. For, how else can you explain the following January soap bombs?

Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn get fired and leave Days of Our Lives for good. Does anyone remember the soap parody film Soapdish from 1992? In it a soap headwriter played by Whoopi Goldberg is asked to bring back a dead character she

No, no, not even the freezing winds of January could render my longtime beloved soap operas … so disgustingly crass!

had previously decapitated. “How can I bring him back?” she says, “He doesn’t have a head! How can I give lines to a body running around without a head?” Kinda sums up the absurdity of Ken Corday getting rid of [Read more…]

In 1986 I was given an assignment by a major women’s magazine to interview Deidre Hall, the star of Days of Our Lives, who had just premiered in a primetime show called Our House.

I had been a Days fan for a long time, and had always been fascinated by how perfect, even-tempered and all-American Deidre seemed, both on and off the screen. (There was certainly no one who looked or acted like Dr. Marlena in ethnic Queens where I grew up!) The angle of the story I proposed was to find the “real” Deidre Hall. So I went to [Read more…]

Thinking Fans Comment Update: James sees Deidre’s departure as another nail in Days’ coffin … and more. See Comments below.

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By Patrick Erwin

I’ve watched Deidre Hall as Dr. Marlena Evans on Days of Our Lives since Marlena came to Salem in 1976. By some miracle of good living and genetics, Hall looks almost the same now as she did then. (I, on the other hand, have far more crow’s feet and far less hair than I did then!)

Like all good soap opera viewing habits, I got hooked on DAYS because it was one of Mom’s favorites. Her two favorite characters were a study in contrasts. There was Julie, whose ability to suffer was so [Read more…]

I first attended and wrote about the Daytime Emmys in 1980 and I should be over them by now. But I continue, year after year, to be exasperated by the fact that two things never change. 1) No matter how many times they have been revised or have been updated over the years, the nomination and award processes are still inequitable and unfair. 2) There is always one irritating thing that happens along the way with either the nominations or awards that’s so egregious, Marlena explodes with rage!

This year it happened right away, as the nominations were announced on The View. The person interviewed on the show as a daytime awards expert/prognosticator wasn’t anyone from the soap press or a soap publication or blog. Instead, he was a senior writer from People magazine. I’m sure Marc D’Agostino is a capable guy, but does he dedicate 100% of his working time and career to the soaps, the way soap journalists do, day after day, year after year, decade after decade? Marlena, who has moved on to teaching, was born and bred in the soap press and has great respect for young soap magazine writers and editors who have full-time jobs doing interviews and other reporting on soaps. They deserve the spotlight!

This is not the first time ABC has gone for a big time magazine writer over a poor soap press scribe in publicizing its show. Years ago [Read more…]